The expression “infusion or extraction products” refers to all those beverages defined as mixtures, that is, the mix of two or more substances (components of the mixture, solvent and solute) mixed together, the composition of which is variable within a more or less large range; usually, they have water as the base liquid and infusions of various kinds as the solute.
For this purpose, single-dose units containing the product are used for the preparation of hot beverages (coffee, tea, chamomile, etc.). These single-dose unit may be, for example, capsules or pods containing a food preparation comprising the basic food product in powder or leaf form and from which the desired beverage is obtained by infusion or dissolving in a hot liquid.
There are countless types of apparatuses designed for producing and preparing these types of products an they will not be described here since they are described in detail in prior art.
The term “ice cream product” is used to mean a food product the production of which gives ice creams, sorbets, cold custards and water-ices, also known as granitas. Their preparation, storage and consumption temperature is close to 0° C., with a variability of from −1.5 to −10° C., considering the average temperature of use of −2° C. for the cold custards, −4° C. for the ice creams and −6° C. for the water-ices.
Ice cream and cold custards are food products obtained from a relative mixture of ingredients which are changed to the semi-solid (or creamy) or solid state by cooling, or freezing, after mixing the respective ingredients in the presence of air, in a cooling chamber.
The mixed food product obtained in this way incorporates a prominent amount of air (at least 40%, by volume) and it is precisely this presence of air which gives it the creaminess or softness typical of ice cream.
In the case of preparation of so-called “artisan” ice cream, a relatively large quantity of ice cream is produced (using suitable machines equipped with vertical axis mixing cylinder—for example—in which the mixture of components is prepared and placed) which, once produced, must be transferred from the above-mentioned machine into special multi-portion containers (which typically contain several kilogrammes and are displayed in the counters of ice cream parlours).
We thus have the production of vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream and so on. The respective containers must be positioned and kept in a chiller counter or freezer also at the moment of sale, when the ice cream is portioned for takeaway consumption in a suitable container, for example a tub or a takeaway cone or even a larger container.
This means a high energy consumption and the availability of a suitable space for a display counter/freezer (known in the jargon of the trade as “well”) for storing ice creams having different flavours in different wells.
It should also be noted that the storage temperatures in these display counters/containers is very low (about −18° C.) so as to keep the product even for a few days and this element is certainly not a positive aspect for the enjoyment of the ice cream by the consumer: the ideal temperature should be around 0° C. so as not to desensitise the taste buds of the end consumer.
The same drawback also occurs in the case of ice cream produced industrially and packed in multi-portion trays for the subsequent portioning, in an ice cream parlour, into individual portions.
In this latter case, the only difference consists in the fact that the preparation of the ice cream product occurs far from the place of sale and, therefore, during the transport, it must be kept at an even lower temperature, of about −25° C.
In practice, in both cases, there is the problem of the presence of a cold chain (production—transport—storage on site) which seriously influences both the energy consumption costs and the consumer satisfaction (in terms of flavour).
Furthermore, another drawback, which is certainly not negligible, should be considered, which consists in the limited duration (a few days) of the product before it degrades, meaning it must be replaced with a fresher one.
In addition to these more widespread types, there are apparatuses designed as distribution units for preparing ice cream or water-ices which are able to dispense a quantity/dose, that is to say, a full portion or a part of a portion in the case of multi-flavour ice cream.
This apparatus comprises, in any case, the use of one or more mixing chambers inside which a reasonable quantity of ice cream product is prepared and stored.
The latter is obtained using a mixture of basic ingredients (usually powder) which can typically be diluted using water or milk.
The apparatus comprises the mixing chamber to contain the quantity of product ready for use; a cooling unit for refrigerating the chamber; a stirrer, typically helical, for continuously mixing the product contained in the refrigerated chamber; and a dispensing device (for each product receptacle), which can be operated by hand, for dispensing the ice cream or the water-ice in a suitable receptacle.
The mixing chamber is designed to allow the preparation and/or the containment of approximately 3 kg of product, which, once obtained, must be kept cold under continuous stirring as it would otherwise harden.
For this reason, especially when the quantity produced is greater than the planned consumption over a period of time (for example, daily), the apparatus results in a considerable energy consumption compared with the quantity of food product contained therein.
Moreover—as also in the above-mentioned cases—the bacterial charge in the food product increases quickly and consequently it is advisable from a hygiene point of view to store the product in the mixing chamber only for a few days.
There are, lastly, prior art solutions which comprise a single-dose capsule filled with ice cream product ready for use (prepared upstream inside particular systems and then transported to the place of final distribution, and consequently with all the problems of the cold chain specified above).
The capsule is removed from the freezer (traditional) and placed inside a cavity of an apparatus acting as press which—pressing on an end of the capsule—gradually empties the product which, exiting from it, positions itself inside the container (cone or tub) for use by the end consumer.
In all the above-mentioned cases there is, therefore, on the one hand, the problem of the production of large quantities of product which must be then managed and stored (forming part of the prior art “cold chain”), whilst, on the other hand, there is the problem of the dose or single portion which, however, also consists of ice cream product (or other product type) ready for use and in any case stored inside freezers.
In short, the apparatuses or sets of elements require a management extended to a plurality of production components, together with the problems of duration of the product which always has a natural shelf life.